The invention relates to a method for operating a telecommunications network, called telecoms network for short, in which a network element at a network node of the telecoms network is controlled by a switching computer. By way of example, the network element is a switching center, a concentrator unit for connecting a plurality of subscribers to a transmission link or, in the case of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a so-called cross-connector. During operation, the switching computer of the network element generates event messages containing details about events that have occurred. An event message is relayed to a prescribed destination only when at least one condition defined for this destination is met by the details in the event message to be relayed. Destinations are protocol files on the network element or control computer sending the event messages, for managing the telecoms network.
A method of this type is explained in the X.734 Standard (1992) xe2x80x9cInformation Technologyxe2x80x94Open Systems Interconnectionxe2x80x94Systems Managementxe2x80x94Event Report Management Functionxe2x80x9d. The X.734 Standard was published by the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union), formerly CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee). According to the X.734 Standard, use is made of so-called discriminators, with each of which at least one condition and at least one destination are associated. When an event message to be relayed is processed, a test must be performed for each discriminator to determine whether its condition or one of its conditions is met by the event message to be relayed. If a condition of a discriminator is met, then the destination or destinations associated with the discriminator is or are stored in a results file. Once all the discriminators have tested the event message to be relayed, the destinations contained in the destination file are ordered. In the case of multiply contained destinations, all the destinations except for one destination are then deleted. This measure prevents the event message from being relayed multiply to the same destination.
The known method has the disadvantage that additional method steps are required for sorting and deleting multiply present destinations. This is disadvantageous in particular because several hundred event messages can occur each second, which have to be evaluated by several thousand discriminators.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method and a network element for relaying event messages that overcome the disadvantages of the prior art devices and methods of this general type, which allows a multiplicity of event messages to be relayed rapidly.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an operating method, which includes providing a telecommunications network having a network element with a switching computer at a network node. Event messages containing details about events occurring during the operation of the network element in the switching computer are then generated. At least one condition is assigned to each of a plurality of predetermined destinations for defining each of the predetermined destinations. The predetermined destinations are organized into a sequence of predetermined destinations in which each of the predetermined destinations occurs once. Each of the predetermined destinations are tested in an order prescribed by the sequence of predetermined destinations for an occurrence of the at least one condition. Finally, an event message is relayed to a respective predetermined destination of the predetermined destinations only when the at least one condition defined for the respective destination is met by the details in the event message to be relayed.
The invention is based on the insight that in a simple method for relaying the event messages, it is necessary to avoid multiple calculations and the complex sorting of the destinations in the case of the relaying of each event message. Therefore, in the method according to the invention, the destinations are only sorted once before the beginning of the method, thereby producing a sequence in which each destination occurs precisely once. The sequence is then used for processing a multiplicity of event messages. The sequence has to be changed only when new destinations are added or old destinations are no longer valid. Since the sorting of the destinations is already concluded before the event messages are produced, the event messages can be relayed very rapidly in the case of the method according to the invention.
In the method according to the invention, the condition is tested for each destination in the order prescribed by the sequence of destinations. If the condition is met, the destination is entered into the destination file. Once all the destinations have been processed, the destinations are already ordered in the destination file. This is true even when there are a plurality of alternative conditions for one destination.
In the method according to the invention, the destinations are ordered in an all-embracing manner across the boundaries prescribed by the discriminators. The conditions are then also assigned to the individual destinations beyond the boundaries of the discriminators. Therefore, conditions of different discriminators may also be associated with one destination. The conditions for a destination then form a set of conditions.
In a development of the invention, the testing of the conditions within a set of conditions is terminated as soon as a condition is met by the details in the event message to be relayed. This measure is based on the insight that the event message only has to be relayed once to a destination. Since the conditions of the set of conditions are alternatives, it suffices to send the event message to the associated destination as soon as just one of the conditions is met.
If, furthermore, the conditions of the set of conditions are tested in a sequence in which the conditions are ordered according to how often they are met by the details in event messages to be relayed, then the testing of the conditions of a set of conditions will in the majority of cases already be terminated after the testing of the first condition or after the testing of the first two conditions. Only in very rare cases will it be necessary to test all the conditions of the set of conditions. The testing complexity and hence the number of method steps are reduced further by this measure.
In one exemplary embodiment, the sequence of destinations is defined by a list of chained elements. The elements each contain an address reference to the subsequent element. By altering the address references, it is easily possible to insert elements into the list or to remove elements from the list. Each element in the list is assigned precisely one destination of the sequence. Instead of the list, it is also possible to use a table or another suitable data structure.
In another development of the method according to the invention, in which interim results determined from the details in the event messages in accordance with at least one condition are logically combined by logic operations, a Boolean table is used which is already stored before the generation of the event messages in the memory of the computer. By use of the Boolean table, the interim results can then be logically combined very rapidly in accordance with the logic operation prescribed in the condition. Only one memory cell has to be read. The relaying becomes very simple and very rapid as a result of the use of the Boolean table.
In a development, the method according to the invention is made rapid by the avoidance of multiple calculations. Conditions which have already been calculated are noted by a test flag for each condition. In addition, the result of the calculation is noted. If a condition has to be tested again during the method, then the fact that this condition has already been tested is identified from the test flag. It is only necessary to use the test result that has already been determined. Repeated testing is obviated. A similar method is also used for the interim results, in which multiple calculations are prevented using a marker.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, a marker stored in the memory of the computer is used if at least one interim result has been determined. A first value of the marker indicates that the interim result has not yet been determined, and a second value of the marker indicates that the interim result has already been determined. The interim result is determined from the details if the marker has the first value. The interim result is then stored in the memory, and the marker obtains the second value. A stored interim result stored in the memory is used if the marker has the second value.
The requirements imposed by the X.734 Standard mentioned above can also be fulfilled in the method according to the invention, if the destinations and the conditions are managed in the switching computer in such a way that they can at any time be assigned to data objects whose data contain at least one condition and at least one destination. These data objects correspond to the discriminators mentioned in the X.734 Standard. In this development of the method according to the invention, the destinations and conditions can be maintained by at least one control computer, which expects the data structure prescribed in the X.734 Standard, i.e. discriminators. 12. More specifically, the maintenance step includes prescribing, erasing, and/or interrogating the predetermined destinations and the conditions.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the predetermined destinations are provided as addresses of other computers for managing the telecommunications network. Furthermore, the predetermined destinations may be provided as protocol files in which the event messages are stored.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the network element can be a switching centers, a cross-connector and a concentrator unit.
In accordance with a further added feature of the invention, the telecommunications network is a fixed network, a mobile radio network or a network having a fixed network component and a mobile radio network component.
The invention additionally relates to a network element that is used in particular for carrying out the method according to the invention. The above-mentioned technical effects also apply, therefore, to this network element.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method and a network element for relaying event messages, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.